By LEX DOIG, JAEHEE KIM and ADRIAN MANCERA COTA, Howard Center for Investigative Journalism

CORVALLIS, Ore. (AP) — The fire burned for about nine hours, billowing smoke and scorching the wooden trestles of a nearly 75-year-old railroad bridge that spans the Marys River in Corvallis, home to Oregon State University. Long after the flames died out, Michelle Emmons, a local environmental advocate, could still smell the noxious stench of charred creosote — a chemical preservative used to treat outdoor wooden structures.

The bridge is owned by Portland & Western Railroad, which says it made repairs after the 2022 fire. Emmons wanted more.

“It was most alarming to us to see that there were still rail cars that were going over the bridge,” said Emmons, who co-leads the Willamette Riverkeeper,

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